Novartis MS Drug Could Generate $1 Billion : CEO

The first oral treatment for multiple sclerosis could generate $1 billion in sales, the CEO of Novartis, its manufacturer, told CNBC Thursday.

“It’s a major change in treatment [of the disease],” said Novartis’ Joseph Jimenez about the drug called Gilenya. “It will be a blockbuster for us.”

The market for MS drugs is $10 billion, so if Gilenya lives up to the CEO’s projections, it would capture a tenth of the market.

The progressively debilitating disease, in which a person’s immune system attacks the fatty substance that protects nerve fibers, is typically treated with injections and infusions. The oral drug makes it easier for MS patients to manage their disease.